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STEM programs make impact, still need work, advocates say

A focus on STEM education is the hot topic of conversation among academics, business leaders and politicians.

Everyone agrees a greater emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math is important; jobs to fill today's talent gaps — and jobs of tomorrow — will demand STEM skills. And there is no shortage of programs to encourage and promote STEM-related curriculum and career fields to youths and adults. But all the chatter begs the question: Is it working?

"Yes, we are making a dent," said Barbara Bolin, executive director of Lansing-based Michigan STEM Partnership. "But we still have some issues."

Created last year, the Michigan STEM Partnership is a statewide collaborative that includes educators, employers, legislators and others. The partnership is one of 19 states that comprise the STEMx Network, which provides a platform for sharing best practices, analyzing and disseminating information and resources.

Other public-private groups also are working on the issue, as are a number of business leaders.

Bolin's group is focused on the new economy and addressing the lack of STEM skills in schoolchildren and job applicants.

Some of the issues she considers top of the agenda: filling the state's workforce gap, getting more females interested in STEM and changing parents' perceptions about skilled trades.

Needs in the STEM fields are growing faster than anyone can keep up with, Bolin said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2018, there will be an estimated 274,000 STEM-related jobs in Michigan. In the U.S. as a whole, the number will approach nearly 8.7 million.

Marilyn Schlack

"Over the last several years as a state, and a country, we've pushed college, college, college," said Marilyn Schlack, president of Kalamazoo Valley Community College. "It was interpreted as four-year university education. Many high schools and some community colleges started discontinuing their technical programs or let some of their equipment go. Now ... we're not as ready as we should be."

KVCC is part of a number of STEM-related programs. Last year, the college opened its Mechatronic Systems Technician Academy. The academy trains participants in electronics, computers, mechanical fundamentals and automation. In the past, a skilled-trades program would focus on just one area.

"It's really about working with our companies to train people across machining, electrical, etc," Schlack said. "These are short-term training and competency-based."

In addition, KVCC is part of Project Lead The Way, a nonprofit provider of STEM curriculum for middle and high schools. Unlike traditional math and science courses, its offerings in engineering and biomedical sciences apply math and science principles in a real-world context. More than 120 Michigan schools are involved.

The U.S. ranks 36th overall in math and 28th in science, according to the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment, a survey of education systems conducted every three years by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Gregory Ioanidis

"It's really staggering when you see some of the statistics that are out there," said Gregory Ioanidis, vice president of Novi-based ITC Holdings Corp. and president of ITC Michigan.

Another staggering factor, he said, is the fact that 69 percent of high school graduates are not prepared for college-level science.

As a member of the board of directors of the Michigan Science Center and the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition, STEM education for Ioanidis is personal.

He is working as a co-chair with MAC's STEM Careers and Skilled Trades Task Force to develop a strategy for exposing children, college students and displaced adults to technical and STEM education and careers in the skilled trades. The task force plans to have policy recommendations later this year.

Bolin's Michigan STEM Partnership, meanwhile, recently received $375,000 in grant money commitment to disburse to its five regional hubs. The grants for projects will begin and mostly be completed over the summer.

Funds awarded to the partnership by the Michigan Legislature are used to support project-based and applied learning — and to connect math science centers with STEM activities.

Many of the projects involve immersing middle school students in creative ways. For example, the Robot Factory 4-H Club in Alpena Public Schools, serves 60 actively participating members who are researching and mapping invasive species using underwater robots.

The key, Bolin said, is making science and math fun while teaching it in an applicable way. And although getting all students interested in STEM is the main goal, adolescent females need to be specifically targeted.

"Girls are still behind," Bolin said. "Something like 33 percent of girls entering college choose a STEM field. But only 0.3 percent graduate with a STEM degree. That's pitiful."

Opportunity knocking

Having STEM strategies to get not just girls — but all children and teens — interested in technical careers also means they have a better chance to get hired down the road in well-paying jobs.

If Michigan employers are unable to fill 75 percent of the jobs in STEM fields, workers will miss out on high-paying jobs, most between $25 and $40 per hour, according to data supplied by the Workforce Intelligence Network. WIN is a Southeast Michigan collaborative of nine community colleges, seven workforce boards and economic development partners.

The unfilled jobs will leave $1.9 billion in annual wages on the table, and not in the pockets of prospective employees.

Last October, Dow was the main sponsor of the Great Lakes Bay Science and Engineering Festival at Delta College, about halfway between Midland and Bay City.

The free two-day festival was designed to get children, adolescents and their families excited about science and engineering.

And getting parents on-board is a big piece of the equation.

"I remember when we used to say, 'Why don't your kids go into an apprentice program?' And the parents would look at you with a horrified expression," Bolin said. "But an apprenticeship will pay the student to go to college and then give them a good job afterward. How bad is that?"

The consensus is that Michigan has made strides, but more needs to be done.

"We need to start earlier. We have a governor and state superintendent who realize that pre-kindergarten education is where we need to start," Bolin said. "We have to make the most of the time the kids are in school."